The National Assembly heard the report of the Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov on the decisions reached at the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, held on 8-9 December 2011, with regard to the current crisis in the euro area. Minister Mladenov underscored that Bulgaria had not assumed any additional contributions to the IMF under the agreed European Stability Mechanism(ESM) and noted the position expressed by the Bulgarian government in Brussels that it would not accept taxes imposed from outside.

He added Bulgaria had not contributed to the crisis in Europe and is not to take the burden to pull it out of it. We see our future in the further deepening of the European integration and the strong European currency, but at the same time we favor the right of each state to determine its own taxes.

The Foreign Minister was firm that before signing the Treaty for Stabilization of the euro area the government will not commit Bulgaria and take any decisions without first discuss it with the parliament. He said Bulgaria was among the 3 member states, together with the Czech Republic and Sweden, which refused to take stand before preliminary consultations with their Parliaments. He noted the government will take further steps to obtain a clear mandate on the issue, based on the Constitution and the legislation of the country and the consent of parliament. Mladenov noted the government expects to receive in the following weeks detailed information on the legal framework and the draft of the Treaty. He explained that the “Euro Plus Pact” does not contain an obligation for the member states to standardize their corporate taxes. He added Bulgaria won’t give up its sovereignty and yield to the pressure of someone else to determine the amount of taxes in Bulgaria.

He explained further that Bulgaria is not a contracting party to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Treaty, which is mandatory for the euro area member countries only. The euro area Member States will contribute additional financial resources to the IMF at the amount of 150 billion Euros and 4-5 countries that do not belong to it, but are EU members like Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Poland will contribute 50 billion Euros. Mladenov pointed out that nevertheless Bulgaria is commited to keep and enhance the financial discipline, subject of the “Euro Plus Pact". As proof he mentioned the government’s debt of Bulgaria, which stands at 15, 4 % of the GDP with inflation of 3%. He noted the government hopes the National Assembly will support the measures in favor of keeping the deficit low and   speeding of the pension reform and the reform in the education and science areas. Mladenov pointed out the said reforms comply with the concept of the European Union for its future development.